Oregon Medical Marijuana Registrants Not Protected

So let's say you qualify for Oregon's medical-marijuana program due to back pain or nausea or glaucoma or something similar. You have a legitimate reason to be using it, but your work still holds mandatory drug tests. You would expect to be pardoned as one of the 12,000 Oregon residents with a medical marijuana card, right?

A proposed Senate bill under consideration last Wednesday would allow medical-marijuana users to be fired for failing a drug test. It's a tough issue to tackle. On one hand, there are certain industries where a zero-tolerance drug policy is absolutely necessary due to dangerous work environments such as those in construction. On the other hand, the bill "unfairly punishes medical-marijuana users working in Oregon."

I think it's more than likely that we can trust those within the bounds of the program to use responsibly if they do work in a potentially dangerous environment. Lorenzo Gonzalez uses marijuana for chronic back pain due to a history of multiple motorcycle crashes. He was fired from Merix last month despite being a registered medical-marijuana user. Gonzalez' work "was extremely complex, and there's no way I could use my medication and think straight," choosing instead to only use at night. The action taken by Merix is a controversial one, as it isn't defined whether they had the authority to do so or not.

The debate between federal and state forces continues as medical-marijuana dispensaries are still being raided by the Feds despite state laws allowing the programs to exist. Now this bill threatens the thousands of card-carrying individuals and their right to work and manage their medication responsibly.

What do you think? Does this bill alienate registrants of the medical-marijuana program or is it necessary in maintaining a safe working environment? The outcome will definitely have an impact on all medical marijuana users and may have an even larger influence on the original law itself. There isn't much sense in getting a marijuana card if it doesn't protect you from the Feds or your own workplace, now is there?

[Via NORML]